{"generated_at":"2026-11-12T18:35:18.446Z","source":{"name":"Hacker News public API","url":"https://github.com/HackerNews/API","attribution":"Stories and comments are public Hacker News submissions by their respective authors. HackerHub is an independent reader, not affiliated with Y Combinator.","content_is_untrusted":true},"story_id":50465453,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50465453","total_comments":49,"returned":15,"scope":"Up to the requested number of top-level comments in Hacker News ranked order. Deleted comments are omitted. Nested replies are not fetched; this is not the complete thread.","comments":[{"id":50467853,"author":"dekhn","created_at":"2026-11-12T14:29:37.000Z","text":"I don't think the title is really accurate- it doesn't emit radio signals every 8 minutes, it emits constantly, but emits along an axis that periodically aligns with our viewing cone.","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50467853"},{"id":50468581,"author":"rq1","created_at":"2026-11-12T15:07:36.000Z","text":"“long-period transients“\nWhat wait, 8mn is a long period?\nI checked the fastest pulsar observed rotates and “emits” at 716Hz! :shock:\nThat’s ~70.000km/s on the equator given its ~30km diameter :shock: :shock:\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSR_J1748%E2%88%922446ad","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":3,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50468581"},{"id":50469042,"author":"Kuyawa","created_at":"2026-11-12T15:31:18.000Z","text":"Why would you send signals at a fixed interval? That would instantly label you as a natural phenomena instead of organic intent\nMake it random, at least receivers would have a harder time identifying intentions","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50469042"},{"id":50471241,"author":"stronglikedan","created_at":"2026-11-12T17:49:26.000Z","text":"If this thing has been sending repeating signals for what I presume to be a very long time, shouldn't we have already detected it? Or is it that we've always been able to detect this particular signal, but have only just now traced it to its source?","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":0,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50471241"},{"id":50467446,"author":"cartan","created_at":"2026-11-12T14:12:18.000Z","text":"Nuke them before it's too late!","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50467446"},{"id":50469972,"author":"itintheory","created_at":"2026-11-12T16:28:01.000Z","text":"Sounds like the OnOff star from A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge. It started with very quick oscillation and eventually settled toward 200 years off, 60 years on (or so). Interesting speculation about what this would do to a developing species/society.","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50469972"},{"id":50467594,"author":"throwaway81523","created_at":"2026-11-12T14:17:49.000Z","text":"Pulsars are usually faster than that I guess.","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":0,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50467594"},{"id":50469231,"author":"teeray","created_at":"2026-11-12T15:41:55.000Z","text":"A light shining in the dark forest...","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":0,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50469231"},{"id":50470996,"author":"1970-01-01","created_at":"2026-11-12T17:33:47.000Z","text":"All I got from this is pulsars aren't long period transient stars \"because that's why\".\nSeriously, if data doesn't fit the classical definition, you need to update the classical definition.","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":0,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50470996"},{"id":50467971,"author":"ocastx","created_at":"2026-11-12T14:36:12.000Z","text":"We are on our way, Carol!","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":0,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50467971"},{"id":50466620,"author":"martijnvds","created_at":"2026-11-12T13:13:00.000Z","text":"The signal? \"Replace smoke alarm battery\"","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50466620"},{"id":50466874,"author":"xqcgrek2","created_at":"2026-11-12T13:36:11.000Z","text":"apparently its a class of objects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_period_radio_transient","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":0,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50466874"},{"id":50467373,"author":"metalman","created_at":"2026-11-12T14:09:20.000Z","text":"I didn't know that there was a whole slew of these red and white dwarfs orbiting other stars, which I think must make it extra unlikely for there to be habitable planets in the same system, the process of one star capturing another is going to realy wreck havock with any original planets,\nand any surviving lifeform to get past the am radio phase of technological development\nthats! GPM J071507−114153, \"the pulse on your dial\" brought to by astrophyisal phenominon, every 8 min, for eterinty","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50467373"},{"id":50469785,"author":"whalesalad","created_at":"2026-11-12T16:14:48.000Z","text":"so... a pulsar?","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":1,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50469785"},{"id":50466705,"author":"vegnus","created_at":"2026-11-12T13:20:39.000Z","text":"Radio... Live transmission?","parent_id":50465453,"replies_count":2,"hn_url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50466705"}]}